Walter j



W. .1. F. LIDDELL.

Car Spring.

Patented Mar. 6, 1861).

No.V 27,411.

Inventor:

Witnesses W UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER J. F. LIDDELL, OF ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF ANDBENJAMIN HERSHEY, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-SPRING.

Speccaton of Letters Patent No. 27,411, dated March 6, 1860.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VALTER J. F. LIDDELL, of Erie, in the county ot'Erie and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Springs for Railroad-Cars; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of thisspecication, in which- Figure l, represents in perspective a car truckfurnished with the springs in question. Fig. 2, represents a verticalsection through one of the pedestals or pilloT blocks, and axle box, inone of the proposed Vmodes of application of the spring. Fig. 3,

represents vertical section through the pillow block and axle box, inanother mode of application of the same kind of spring.

Similar letters of reference where they occur in the several figuresdenote like parts in all the drawings.

The usual method of arranging plate or leaf springs upon vehicles issuch as to cause them to be compressed in the direction of their shortdiameter by the superincumbent weight put on top of them, and to expandor elongate in that direction when relieved of their load. In my plan ofhanging car bodies I reverse this mode of hanging the spring, and soarrange and connect them to the car as that the application of weight orforce thereto is applied in a longitudinal and not in a transversedirection, which elongates the spring and the removal of the weight orforce allows them to contract. And my invention consists in theapplication to car or carriage bodies, or their frames, or supports, ofplate or leaf springs which will elongate by the weight or force appliedto them, in a longitudinal direction and contract by the recoil orremoval .of such weight or force, as will be explained, with referenceto the drawings.

A, represents an ordinary truck frame composed of the usual longitudinaland transverse pieces; and to this frame is properly secured thepedestals or pillow blocks C, for supporting the axle boxes B, which inturn support the truck frame on the journals of the car wheels D, saidframe and pedestals being free to rise and fall on said journals inaccommodating themselves to the weight, force, or jar of said car frame.

E, are curved or semi-elliptic leaves, or plates of steel, thatconstitute the springs of the car or vehicle to which they are to beapplied. Two of these leaves or plates constitute one spring, and theyare connected to the car-frame, and axle-journals, the former beingmovable, and the latter immovable in a vertical line as follows: a, is aplate underneath the pedestal, to which the lower ends (5) of the leavesor springs E, are connected by bolts, on which they can turn inexpanding or contracting, and 0 is another plate above the axle box, towhich the upper ends (d) of said leaves or springs are similarlyattached by bolts, the plates c, passing through a slot or mortise e, inthe pedestal, and rests on top of the axle box `B. hen weight or forceis applied in a vertical direction on the frame, the pedestal C, forcesdown the plate a, and the upper plate c, rest-ing on the box B, which isheld at a fixed vertical position by the journals of the axle resting inthe wheels I), remains stationary in that line, and the tendency of thisweight or force is to elongate or straighten out the leaves or plates E,in a vertical line, and in this strained extended position, the weightof the car body and its load is suspended. When the spring is relievedit contracts to its former normal position.

In Fig. Q, the spring is arranged to extend from above to below the axlebox, but it may be entirely above the axle box, as seen in Fig. 3, withbut slight modification of the connecting parts but without change inthe action of the springs (both plans of arranging the springs beingalso seen in Fig. 1). So long as the springs are connected by one oftheir ends to the car frame, which is movable, or supports said frame,and to the journals or boxes, which have a uniform vertical height, andelongate or extend longitudinally by the weight or force upon them, andcontact in a longitudinal direction by the removal of such weight orforce, I should consider it as involving my invention.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3, and to the left of Fig'. 1, theonly change necessary to so apply the springs consists in the rod f, itslower end resting on the axle box B, and its upper end supporting theplate a to which the upper ends of the springs E are connected, as inthe other plan, the under plate resting against the pedestal, or Whichwould be the same thing, the frame, simply reversing the devices butleaving the action of the spring the same` Any number of these leaves orplates can be used according to the duty they have to perform, and anynumber of the springs may be applied to the car or carriage, suchduplication of parts or entireties being contemplated. The buffers maybe connected to the car frames by these f springs, and Work in preciselythe same manner; or common carriages may be hung on springs of thiskind.

Having thus fully described the nature and object of my invention, andshown how

